Pets

Here's the twist: Gavin doesn't actually have any pets. That story was based on something he saw on TV. Probably south park.

BTW, no one would get upset with your stories of drop kicking cats.

I'm pretty good at reading lips. She's saying "during"

Not to detract from the Gavin abuse, but I'm having a rough go of it with one of my cats.

Back story, I had two cats for the longest time, and one (Rocky) passed away on April 1st at about age 14. I guess it was sort of a blessing that he just passed in his sleep one day, in his favorite sunny spot on my bed. The second one (Amira, about 11) never really cared for Rocky, and was probably more thrilled that he wasn't around than anything else. They never fought or anything like that, she just ignored him as much as possible, which sort of sucked because that was the whole reason I got her, as a companion for Rocky. But she is the best lap cat ever. I can't sit down for 5 minutes without her being in my lap.

About 3 weeks after Rocky passed, I got another cat from the pound (still not decided on a name, yes I suck). He was from a home that had a dog and an older cat that apparently terrorized him, so they had kept him locked in a room for the majority of his 1 year, according to the people at the SPCA anyway. They eventually realized that wasn't a life for the cat so they gave him up. He spent the better part of the first two weeks at my place hiding, but eventually he got more confident and even pretty much claimed the new cat tree I bought as his own, and he basically lives there now. He's young and energetic and probably a pain in the ass to Amira now, but overall they seemed to be getting along well enough (essentially her ignoring him like she did with Rocky).

The problem lies in that about 2 weeks ago I noticed Amira was looking pretty thin and her coat was getting unkempt and dull. She had been sneezing and seemed to have a bit of a respiratory issue a little prior to that, so I figured she was just not feeling well. Took her to the vet and they loaded her with antibiotics and fluids, but long story short, multiple vet visits, ultrasounds, x-rays, etc. they can't find anything wrong with her besides a little general inflammation (other than the obvious weight loss and elevated liver readings that are a result of cats not eating). She's just not eating. I tried all kinds of foods, hard and soft, she's even stopped eating tuna which used to be her absolute favorite. She won't even lick up parmesan cheese which used to be like crack for Rocky and her. I'm feeding her critical care high nutrition stuff through a syringe by forcing it into her mouth and she licks and swallows it by reflex, but she fucking hates that obviously. They tried anti-nausea stuff, appetite enhancers, etc. Right now she's on steroids just to help make sure the inflammation is gone and to maybe help kickstart her appetite.

For those that don't know, cats will actually starve themselves to death if they get too far along in the process. According to the vet, their bodies process fat more efficiently than humans, so they start burning it sooner but it fucks up their liver and can lead to fatty liver disease. If that gets too advanced it causes all kinds of systemic problems, including fucking up their brains and obviously death.

She pretty much just hides under or on my bed all day long, so this weekend I went ahead and closed the door to my bedroom/bathroom area to separate her in case it was the new cat that was stressing her out for some reason. It doesn't seem to bother her that she's in there because she rarely left anyway. And this way I can monitor exactly what she eats (nothing that isn't forced into her) and drinks (not enough). But at least she is still drinking and pissing, no poop yet, she's that malnourished it seems. Maybe it will take awhile longer for her to settle down and stop worrying about the other cat, if that was even what caused her to stop eating in the first place. I sort of doubt it was, since she'd just push past him to the food when she wanted it, but I'm trying everything I can think of.

The only option left if she won't start eating on her own is to get a feeding tube inserted somehow (the vet mentioned it but didn't go into detail), but obviously I don't want to go to that extreme if I can help it, because that has to suck for anyone, animal or human. I'm literally at my wits end, and I don't know what to do. She's basically withering away in front of me, and I'm just keeping her alive by forcing food into her. She's attentive and wants loving if I give it to her, but she doesn't really come looking for it anymore, because she has no energy.

I know the vet is giving me the best advice they can, and there probably isn't much anyone here can say to fix it, but I sort of needed to just put it all down somewhere because I come home from work every day expecting to find her dead, and it is tearing me up. I can't lose both of them in a few months. Sorry for the downer post.

I just talked to the vet's assistant and they are going to put together an estimate and have the vet talk to me about possibility putting a feeding tube in her because she's actively starting to fight me (weakly) when I try to feed her, and she hasn't pooped since at least Friday, which clearly means she isn't getting any excess nutrition. Apparently (according to the assistant and Google) feeding tubes in cats aren't anywhere near as traumatic as you'd think they are, and can be put in in about 10 minutes. The main cost is going to be the anesthesia because they need to be put under. When the cat is done with the tube it can be taken out in seconds with no surgery or sedation. (To be clear, I don't give a fuck what any of this costs as I'm going to pay it regardless, just passing along info.)

I don't want to have to do it, but if I keep force-feeding her she's going to end up hating me which isn't a result I want either. She already is finding harder and harder to get to hiding places to try to avoid me, a feeding tube would actually be easier for both of us at this point. She came out this morning when I was getting ready for work and laid down at my feet to have her belly rubbed, and it just broke my heart that I eventually had to leave to go to work. I was late because fuck it, but I'd have loved to just stay there all day giving her love, because too much of our interaction these days is traumatic for her (pretty sure she associates the nasty-tasting steroid pill with feeding time now too).

Thanks for letting me livejournal. I'll update with anything new.

Jesus Christ, I can't even read that without getting emotional.

Amira is getting her feeding tube put in as I type this. Here's hoping everything goes well and I can get her back to being healthy again soon.

Where would you put it? I think it's good that people aren't allowed to troll the shit out of it.

I don't like them either, but you don't need to in order to feel empathy. You just need to know that the vvoid obviously does. It's like feeling bad for someone losing their grandpaw. You didn't know him, all you need to know is what he meant to the person you're talking to.

I tolerate cats. I'm allergic, but my woman likes them so I let them stay. I like that they hunt creepy crawlies when you don't overfeed them. I'm thinking of starving our cat and seeing if she will go after the squirrels or rabbits.